Pathophysiology: Difference between revisions
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'''Pathophysiology''' is the study of the disturbance of normal mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions, either caused by a [[disease]], or resulting from a disease or abnormal syndrome or condition that may not qualify to be called a disease. |
'''Pathophysiology''' is the study of the disturbance of normal mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions, either caused by a [[disease]], or resulting from a disease or abnormal syndrome or condition that may not qualify to be called a disease. An alternate definition is "the study of the biological and physical manifestations of disease as they correlate with the underlying abnormalities and physiological disturbances."<ref>1<ref> |
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An example, from the field of [[infectious disease]], would be the study of a [[toxin]] released by a bacterium, and what that toxin does to the body to cause harm, one possible result being [[sepsis]]. Another example is the study of the chemical changes that take place in body tissue that because of [[inflammation]]. |
An example, from the field of [[infectious disease]], would be the study of a [[toxin]] released by a bacterium, and what that toxin does to the body to cause harm, one possible result being [[sepsis]]. Another example is the study of the chemical changes that take place in body tissue that because of [[inflammation]]. |
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==Reference== |
==Reference== |
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<references> Craig Scanlan, Egan's Fundamentals of Respiratory Therapy, St. Louis, 1999, p. 1186. |
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*Kumar, V., Abbas, A. and N. Fausto. 2004. ''Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease.'' Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company |
*Kumar, V., Abbas, A. and N. Fausto. 2004. ''Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease.'' Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company |
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Revision as of 20:58, 1 November 2006
Pathophysiology is the study of the disturbance of normal mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions, either caused by a disease, or resulting from a disease or abnormal syndrome or condition that may not qualify to be called a disease. An alternate definition is "the study of the biological and physical manifestations of disease as they correlate with the underlying abnormalities and physiological disturbances."<ref>1<ref>
An example, from the field of infectious disease, would be the study of a toxin released by a bacterium, and what that toxin does to the body to cause harm, one possible result being sepsis. Another example is the study of the chemical changes that take place in body tissue that because of inflammation.
Pathophysiology can be looked at as the intersection of two older, related disciplines: (normal) physiology and pathology.
Physiology (see article) is the study of normal, healthy bodily function (as opposed to anatomy, which is the study of normal structure). When something disrupts normal physiological processes, it enters the realm of pathophysiology.
Pathology, broadly speaking, is the study of disease, or the results of disease in the body. Pathophysiology looks at the detailed malfunctioning that comes from or, alternately, causes disease.
One caution in this approach is that healthy structure and function is not precisely the same in any two individuals. A medical scientist may be tempted to declare, "This is normal and that is abnormal. This is healthy and that is unhealthy." But the norm may evolve as further study gains a more sophisticated understanding of what is and isn't "normal." This is the doctrine of "biochemical individuality," best spelled out in a short book of that name by Roger Williams. Williams, probably a genius, was the famous and sometimes controversial Texas biochemist who discovered the vitamin, pantothenic acid. To him, biochemical individuality was a way of thinking that helped avoid scientific overconfidence and preserve humitility in the search for further knowledge.
See also
Reference
<references> Craig Scanlan, Egan's Fundamentals of Respiratory Therapy, St. Louis, 1999, p. 1186.
- Kumar, V., Abbas, A. and N. Fausto. 2004. Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company
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